Reinforcing member for the springs of motor driven vehicles



June 18, 1940. Q DELL 2,205,086

REINFORCING MEMBER FOR THE SPRINGS OF M OTOR DRIVEN VEHICLES Filed Aug. 15, 1938 Patented June 18, 1940 UNITED PATENT OFFICE Application August 15, 1938, Serial No. 224,904 In Australia February 3, 1938 2 Claims.

This invention relates to vehicle springs and more particularly to the springs of the latest model of a well known make of motor car. The springs of this motor car are secured to their anchorages at each end by the use of a spreading tool by which the curved spring is partly flattened and thus lengthened to enable it to be slipped onto the shackles that form an anchorage at each end.

In practical use it has been found that many breakages occur and from observation it has been noticed that when a spring is submitted to shock the curves of the supporting leaves do not conform to that of the main leaf, that is to say they do not flatten out with it. The result of this lack of uniformity of movement is that the main leaf takes the major portion of the shock, the ends of the leaf next to it pressing against the convex surface of the main leaf. The result of this absence of uniform movements is that when an additional load is suddenly placed upon the spring the main leaf is submitted to a jar which in many cases results in a fracture or the breakage of the main leaf.

The main object of this invention is to provide a. pair of adjustable reinforcing springs which may be applied to the under or concave side of the main leaf to assist the main leaf to resist the load by absorbing some of the shock. The construction and arrangement of these reinforcing springs is such that should a breakage occur it will still be possible to safely drive the car for a considerable distance, because not only does the reinforcing spring take or assist in taking the load which the broken spring ordinarily takes, but its fixings hold the leaves of the spring together.

The invention consists of preferably a pair of curved springs having U shaped bends or corrugations formed therein, and a means for securing them in such a manner that the tension may be adjusted as required.

In order that the invention may be thoroughly understood a detailed description will now be given and reference made therein to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the reinforcing springs constructed according to this invention secured at one end by the respective central clamps in readiness for the other ends to be secured and the necessary amount of tension applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1 but the outer end has been forced inwardly towards the main leaf of the spring to the required position and the reinforcing spring secured in that position by U shaped clamps of a known type.

The invention consists preferably of a pair of curved springs Ill-llla wherein are formed a plurality of spaced U shaped bends or corrugations l l-l la which project inwardly from the concave curve of the spring. Short portions |2-l2a of each end of the springs Ill-Illa are also turned in the same direction, one turned in end l2 forming a stop to maintain it in position under the plate l3a of one of the ordinary central U shaped clamps l3 by which the leaves l b-Mm of the spring are held together, the turned in portion In at the other extremity of the reinforcing spring Ill-i001, acting as stops to maintain additional U shaped clamps l5l5a in position near the respective anchoring eyes IS on the main leaf l4. One or more U shaped clamps l1 may also be used and these will be prevented from slipping out of position by placing them so that they lie between two adjacent U shaped bends or corrugations II or Ila. in the reinforcing springs Ill-Illa. The additional U shaped clamps I5-I5a near the anchoring eyes 5 on the main leaf M are used for adjusting the tension on the reinforcing spring. At Figure 2 the reinforcing springs I-l0a are shown with their full tension applied to the respective ends of the main leaf Id.

In applying the invention the springs are made of spring steel and may be stamped or otherwise fabricated by any known means adopted in the manufacture of analogous articles. One end of each of the springs l0l0a is then secured in position by the respective existing central U shaped clamps I3 as shown at Figure 1. The outer ends of the reinforcing springs Ill-Illa are then forced inwardly towards the main leaf N by a jack or other suitable means until the U shaped clamps. l5, [a and I 1 can be positioned and secured by the respective nuts which may then be tightened until the required tension is obtained.

Whilst it is possible to make these reinforcing springs Ill-Illa in one piece it is preferred to make them as described because among other reasons they are easier to manipulate in two parts than they would be if constructed in one piece.

I claim:

1. In a motor vehicle spring of the inverted transverse type, reinforcing members characterized in that they comprise a pair of like curved spring members having substantially flat surfaces connected by transverse open mouthed U shaped bends or corrugations that project inwardly from the concave side of each curved reinforcing member, the bends or corrugations in said reinforcing spring members being substantially the length of the fiat portions of the reinforcing members, with a clamp at each end of the reinforcing member and intermediate thereof between adjacent curved U shaped bends of the reinforcing members tying the reinforcing members to the vehicle spring.

2. A motor vehicle spring of the inverted type, comprising curved spring leaves of difierent length the main spring leaf being on the bottom, means connecting adjacent spring leaves to hold the leaves together, and a pair of curved reinforcing members under the main leaf each member extending from the connecting means holding the leaves together in the middle of the main leaf to the anchoring eye at each end of the main leaf, said reinforcing members comprising a pair of curved spring members having substantially fiat surfaces connected by transverse open mouthed U shaped bends or corrugations that project inwardly from the concave side of each curved reinforcing member, the bends or corrugations in the spring reinforcing member being substantially the length of the flat portions of the reinforcing member.

ALBERT PHILIP CHARLES DELL. 

